Feb 09, 2007

Dr. Destruction Revealed Part 10

We jumped the gun a bit and unveiled the cape before spending some time on the final sculpt of Muttpop’s Dr. Destruction
Figure. SyteR finished polishing up the figure based on the various
suggestions. As you can see, things came together very nicely.
SyteR added many details to the piece that make it shine. The angular
sideburns give the character a chunky style that complements the jaw
and sly grin. The back of the pants have some soft wrinkles that
suggest a softer, more refined cloth than that used by the Red Demon
figure. There’s also a heft to the pose that suggests that Dr.
Destruction is trying too hard to look proper and sophisticated. Next
week we will focus on the step-by-step process of building the cape.

Feb 02, 2007

Dr. Destruction Revealed Part 9

Here’s a first look at Muttpop’s
Dr.Destruction Figure with an early version of his cape accessory. This
isSyteR’s cape sculpt at its most primitive. SyteR addressed all of
Muttpop’s concern for the Dr. Destruction figure. Changes were made to
the skull mask, cigarette, clothes, and his cane makes its debut. A
mixture of sculpey and wax were used to build up the cape. Check back
next week for a more detailed look at the figure tweaks.

Jan 26, 2007

Dr.Destruction Revealed Part 8

After having seen SyteR’s latest sculpting developments on Muttpop’sDr. Destruction
Figure, Bill felt that the eye design on the skull mask needed to be
changed to retain the spirit of his original design. Below you will see
Bill’s comparison of SyteR’s original sculpt (left image), Bill’s
suggested change (middle image), and an image sample from the comic
(right image). If you look at the three images carefully you will
notice that SyteR’s original sculpt has a slightly bigger gap between
the skull eyes than in Bill’s suggested examples.

Description text for the Dr. Destruction package has just been
completed. Here’s a little insight into the latest of Muttpop figures:
“From Les Champs Élysées to East Los Angeles…
Dr. Destruction is the leader of LES FORMIDABLES, the first genuine
group of French superheroes. His heroic intentions are mainly cultural:
Dr. Destruction is appalled with the peasant-like ways of Americans and
came to East LA to teach them the rudiments of “Les Bonnes Manières.”
He drives the pride of the French automotive industry: a 1979 Citroën
CX Présidentielle: 2.5 tons of solid Parisian iron with the power of
75 horses, fueled by the purest of diesel. Some people suspect that
Dr. Destruction isn’t really French. While it is true that he has no
qualms sipping American brewed coffee, his reputation as a
flip-flopping back-stabbing surrenderer cements his Country of origin.
His skull adorned cane hides a sharp blade that, he claims, killed the
fifth member of LES FORMIDABLES: the one who mocked Jerry Lewis.
Destruction uses this very same blade every morning to spread brie on
his baguette.”

Lastly, what is this sneak peak image of? He’s being released far
sooner than you think… Check back next week for SyteR’s corrections
and further developments on Dr. Destruction.

Jan 19, 2007

Dr. Destruction Revealed Part 7

Here’s the latest glimpse at Muttpop’sDr. Destruction Figure as sculpted by SiteR.

Of particular interest are the tweaks SiteR has made to Dr. Destruction’s body in response to Bill’s suggestions. A slight repositioning of the leg adds a swagger and style to Dr. Destruction that was not felt in his originally sculpted stance. Relief in the suit detail has also been sharpened.

As mentioned last week, Red Demon has not been forgotten! Included below are first glimpses at the printed prototype of the Red Demon box and the master mold of the Vinyl Rotocast Red Demon figure. A dark colored paint has been sprayed over the white vinyl to accentuate the detail in the photo.

Jan 12, 2007

Dr. Destruction Revealed Part 6

Muttpop’sDr. Destruction
Figure first round of corrections are nearly complete. Based on Bill’s
suggested corrections,SiteR went to work on his wax sculpt of the
fabulous Frenchman.

As can be seen in the comparison photos, SiteR rounded out the eyes
on the skull mask. He also added some angular definition to Dr. Destruction’s sleeked back hair. The Dr. head has been slightly tilted
forward and his sideburns are being redone for some extra relief. This
is the first time we get to see Dr. Destruction with his “cigarette”.Next week we’ll focus on SiteR’s adjustments to Dr. Destructions lower body.

By the way, developments on Red Demon are moving full steam ahead.
We expectto see new glimpses of the Red Demon vinyl prototype some time
this month! Lots of Muttpop goodies are on the horizon. Much of it will
soon be revealed right here on Vinyl Pulse.

Jan 05, 2007

Dr. Destruction Revealed Part 5

SiteR’s first pass at Muttpop’s
Dr.Destruction was complete. The Muttpop crew loved what SiteR had
accomplished, but with the help of Dr. Destruction creator, Bill,
Muttpop came up with the following tweaks for the sculpt:

1. Eyes less angular: Eyes should be more round and less square.

2. Cheek area of mask less angular: Please round out the
Cheek/Jawbone area of the mask. This is to help emphasize the
skull-like nature of the mask.

3. Legs a littler longer & posed: Current leg length ends at
where the ankle should begin. Left leg needs to be angled more to the
left.

4. Back less angular: Angles of the back (particularly in the shoulder blade area) needs to be rounded out.

5. Jaw area needs to be sharpened: Less round, more square.

6. Larger distinction between mask and face: Relief indicating what
is Destruction's face and what is his mask needs to be made more
distinct/thicker.

7. Head/Chin tilted forward: Please emphasize the tilt of Dr.
Destruction's head. Destruction's head should be tilted forward a
bit...forcing Destruction to give you that menacing eyes staring from
below brow look.

Dec 29, 2006

Dr. Destruction Revealed Part 4

We close out 2006, with our fourth look at the ongoing sculpt process for Muttpop'sDr. Destruction.

Having fine-tuned his sculpting approach to Dr. Destruction with the initial head sculpt, SiteR began to give more shape to Dr. Destruction's body. We're enjoying watching Dr. Destruction unfold before our eyes. While work on the body is in the early stages, it's nice to see the full figure with enough detail to loosely imagine what the production piece might look like. Also cool to see the workflow progression from head to body with incremental increases in detail.

At this point, the Muttpop team was particularly happy with SiteR's focus on
translating the quirky touches in Bill's original turnaround drawing
into three-dimensional space.
Check back next week for a look into Bill's and Muttpop's comments on SiteR's initial Dr. Destruction sculpt.

Dec 22, 2006

Dr. Destruction Revealed Part 3

The Muttpop and SiteR collaboration
continues! Having accumulated that glob of semi-formed sculptors wax in last
week’s post, SiteR went to work on the Dr. Destruction figure. Unlike clay
or Sculpey, the sculptor’s wax becomes very hard at room temperature. To
compensate for this, SiteR uses a tiny blowtorch to soften the wax as he
goes about sculpting and tooling the piece with his arsenal of handmade
instruments.

As SiteR began to shape out the entire figure, he took a particular interest
in Dr. Destruction’s head. The head is vital to the overall sculpt as the
greatest point of focus on the figure and being instrumental to conveying
the overall personality of the character.

Check out SiteR’s earliest renderings of Dr. Destruction’s head below.
Happy holidays from the Muttpop team!

Dec 15, 2006

Dr. Destruction Revealed Part 2

You're going to see this and FREAK OUT…but don't worry, this is all totally standard sculpting procedure! Muttpopdecided
to switch things up a bit by working on Dr. Destruction with SiteR,a
local Los Angelean sculptor. Thus far, the experience has
beenextraordinary.

When working with Monster5 on both Tequila and El Panda, Muttpop
experienced the process of sculpt development in a manner very similar
to Vinyl Pulse readers: through jpegs sent by e-mail. Monster5, hidden
behind a barrage of e-mail addresses and contacts, would submit photos
of the sculpt. Muttpop would discuss and send their comments. New
pictures were then received in need of more comments.

With SiteR, sculptor of Dr. Destruction, the Muttpop team is able
to drive out and see the sculpt and discuss matters directly with
SiteR, resulting in a far more dynamic and collaborative working
experience.

Below are pictures of Dr. Destruction in his earliest phases of
production. He's just a big hulking blob of wax. Wax is SiteR's
preferred medium to sculpt with. He starts off with thin sticks and
sheets of wax that he melts down. While melting the wax down, he begins
to roughly form the wax into basic shapes that will eventually become
Dr. Destruction's head, torso, legs, and arms.

Even in this most primitive form, the personality of Dr. Destruction
is beginning to bleed through. Check back next week for the first clear
glimpse at SiteR's early take on Dr. Destruction's head.

Dec 08, 2006

Dr. Destruction Revealed Part 1

Some factory related delays have held up the production cycle on Red Demon. That hasn’t stopped Muttpop
from moving ahead on sculpting its next figure: Dr. Destruction. The
Muttpop team decided it was time to switch things up a bit and
introduce a character that didn’t fit the mold of a Mexican wrestling
Luchador. Enter Dr. Destruction. Even without a wrestling mask
Dr. Destruction has a lot of the qualities that make a Muttpop figure a
Muttpop figure. He also makes an excellent companion piece to Red
Demon. Bill (the artist who designed Red Demon) designed Dr.
Destruction. Dr. Destruction is supposed to be an amalgam of all things
French. As the leader of the Formidables, he is super proud of French
culture. He listens to old French music from the 40’s. He drives around
in a “presidential” Citroen car. He gets super angry when someone puts
the Brie cheese in the refrigerator. But his French origins are to be
questioned because he has no problem drinking a cup of Starbucks Venti
Latte.

To switch things up a bit we decided to have SiteR sculpt Dr.
Destruction. Although he’s a new name to the Designer Toy scene, SiteR
has been in the business of professional toy sculpting for many years.
In time you will see why his fellow peers regard him as one of the best
sculptors in the business.

Check out Bill’s turnaround illustration for a tease of what’s to come…

Dec 01, 2006

Report: Bill and Gobi's Signing at Artoyz

Bill and Gobi have safely returned from their Lucha Libre show held at Artoyz in Paris, France this past Saturday (11.25.06). Here’s a nice little recap of the excitement of the Muttpop Lucha Libre event just in case you weren't able to travel to Paris ;-)

Gobi and Bill immediately put their art skills to work doing sketches for fans and signing figures for collectors. Be sure to click through to the full post to check out some of their amazing Lucha Libre sketches. Btw, Gobi is the one with the wavy hair while Bill has the close crop. While Gobi's had two signing events in the US, Bill has yet to meet his fans stateside. All in good time ;-)

Nov 24, 2006

Muttpop - Lucha Libre Comics

The upcoming ArtoyzMuttpop signing with Lucha Libre artists Bill and Gobi, will be the first major Europe-based signing event since the debut of the Lucha Libre Comic anthology in France. Work on the actual comic began nearly two years prior to the release of Tequila, Muttpop’s debut figure. After 3 years in development, the comic has debuted in France to great critical acclaim and sales that have surpassed the expectations of Les Humanoides Associes, the Lucha Libre comic publisher.

The Muttpop team is incredibly happy with news of such success. And for those of you waiting for the English language debut of the Lucha Libre comic, your requests will be pleasantly answered in the next year! Designer toys, comics…what’s next on the Muttpop/Lucha Libre Crusade of “Good Taste”?

Below you’ll find a few morsels from the Lucha Libre comic series.

Parisians and World Travelers: Don’t forget about tomorrow’s Artoyz Muttpop signing! Check it out at Artoyz in Paris, France on Sunday November 25th @ 3 PM.